Improvement in the manufacture of steel



. by a planing-machine, or otherwise cut into' UN TED STATES PATENT .OFFIGE.

JOSIAH n. BIRD, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.43,562, dated July 19,1864.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, JOSIAH N. BIRD, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement. in the Manufacture of Steel; and I do hereby declare that the following is' a full, clear, and exact description of the same. 4

The mode of manufacturing steel commonly practiced in this country is to. take iron bars, cut them up into small pieces, which are put into pots with carbonaceous matter and subjected to heat in a suitable furnace'till carbon ized and |nelted.- The molten metal is then formed into ingots, which are drawn byham-v mers or between rolls into bars. 7

This invention consists in the manufacture of steel direct fromlthe blooms without drawing them into bars.

To enable others skilled in the art to make steel by my invention, Lwill proceed to describe the process. v

The blooms received from the bloomary are first allowed to cool, and either cut into scraps by means of shears, or planed into shavings small or thin pieces, and these scraps, shavings, or pieces are put into the melting-pots with the carbonaceous matter and some suitable flux, and subjected to the heat in the melting-furnace until carbonized and melted, and afterward poured into ingots and drawn into bars, as in manufacturing steel from bariron. The flux. which I generally use is lime, and the quantity from half (5) a pound to five (5) pounds, according to the quantity of slag, which depends'on the quality of the blooms. In this process it will be understood that the cutting orplaning up ofthe blooms into scraps, shavings, or small or thin pieces is substituted for drawing them down into bars and-cutting up/the bars, and a great saving of time, labor, and fuel is effected, whereby the steelis produced of as vgood a quality ata considerable reduction or expense.

What I claimasmy invention, and desire to described.

J. N, BIRD. Witnesses:

J. W. GooMBs, GEO. W. REED. 

